Player Analysis: Martin Ødegaard

On April 13, 2014, Martin Ødegaard became the youngest ever player to debut in the Norwegian top flight at 15 years and 118 days old, coming on as a substitute against Aalesunds FK at the Marienlyst Stadion. It took him just 18 minutes to make his mark on the game; he picked up a loose ball at the end of the box, held off several defenders, before sliding a pass in for Thomas Sørum, who scored the decisive second goal to seal the victory.

At the tender age of 15, Ødegaard played a key role behind Strømsgodset's fourth-place finish, contributing 5 goals and 7 assists in 23 appearances and earning trials at Arsenal, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, and Manchester United. However, it was Real Madrid who won the race for him, paying a fee within the region of €4 million potentially rising to €8 million with bonuses.

The Norwegian was handed an eye-watering salary of £1.7 million-a-year according to local reports, before joining up with Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid Castilla side. His time in the Spanish capital didn't quite start off on the right foot: Ødegaard was frozen out by Zidane in April 2015 after refusing to train with his teammates in the reserves on account of a contract in his contract that allowed him to train with the first team five days a week.

"Regrettably, some players have complained that the teenager 'can’t be bothered' with his Castilla team mates and is only interested in being alongside Cristiano Ronaldo," reported AS.